Another Story of Ghosts
by CandyOrchird
Summary: Just about nobody knows about it, but those that do cherish it -the world class theatre competition. Countries from all over the world send their best to compete for the title that year, keeping the glory secret to themselves. Chosen to perform in the Opera House of Paris, a group chooses Phantom of the Opera to compete with... Only to find there's more than one ghost in the story.
1. Chapter 1 - One Day More

My hand glided over the nightstand, searching for my phone. I could hear it vibrating but I didn't open my eyes to find it, or to check what the time was. It slid into my hand, and I flipped it open, pulling it closer to my ear.

"Morning, sunshine! Practice was just rescheduled. We start in an hour. See you there?"

I smiled. "Gods be good, André, you're the first caller I've had this morning! See you in an hour. Tell him I'm sorry."

André laughed in response. "He hasn't shown up yet. I think Rosaline is getting around to calling him, but I'll have to see. Anyways – try not to wake your dad up, on the way over here. That's the last thing any of us need today."

"See you in a bit!"

The phone was dropped on the bed. I yawned, daring to open my eyes and check the time; a small clock told me it was nine in the morning. I jumped out of bed, quickly awake, and started to pull off my nightclothes. Father would be up soon, giving me just a short amount of time to get out of the house before he found out I was still there.

It was never a good idea to be caught by him, at any point of the day. Least of all when he woke up. After mother had left us alone – in the middle of nowhere, far from the edge of town – whatever form of a heart she had left him was gone.

I found a grey summer dress hanging over a chair, and pulled it on. The mirror told me that I looked fine, but as I twirled in a circle, I reminded myself that my hair was in due need of brushing. The ivory comb sitting beside my foot fit nicely in the palm of my hand; it also pulled through my snarled red hair with surprising speed.

Within fifteen minutes, I had changed my clothes, pulled my hair back, grabbed my bag, and I was ready to leave. I grabbed a pale grey shawl as I was heading out of my bedroom, which had my car keys in the left pocket, and quietly paused.

Audible snoring echoed from down the hallway. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and turned around, realizing that I'd forgotten my phone. It was hidden beneath a purple furred blanket, and as I grabbed it, it reminded me that I'd missed a call.

I frowned, and flipped it open, pressing a few buttons to call the person back.

"Hello?" I whispered, trying to sneak quietly down the stairs.

"You outside yet?"

I rolled my eyes, smiling. I didn't know that he had called me, but now that he had, there was something he had to say. I chose to wait for just long enough to be outside before I did respond, closing the door behind me. André said something from the other side of the call, and Rosaline laughed.

"I'm outside now. Did everyone decide to start without me?" I reached into my pocket, pulling out the car keys. A standard black car was waiting patiently in the gravel drive-way, with the sunlight shining on it. _Gross. Now it's going to be all hot inside there... Hopefully I didn't leave anything._

"Not yet. Just planning out today's rehearsal… Did André remind you that it's our final party?"

I swung the door open, and jumped into the front seat. _Thankfully I'm still short, otherwise I'd hit my head every time I tried that_. "Final results come in?"

"Yes. And I've heard it's very promising, though I can't tell you…"

The car started to purr softly as I turned the key in the ignition. "Really? André told you before me? I can't believe that he would do such a thing! I feel so betrayed. If he doesn't choose a good play, I think I might cry." I put the car into reverse, and turned my head to check behind. Nothing ever appeared this far out of town, but it was always worth the try.

"Whatever. See you in twenty?"

"Better be at the front door. I'm not sure if I have my own key."

He laughed, and hung up.

I swung the car to the right, and quickly put it back into drive. The road to the college was long, but empty as ever, and I was able to speed as fast as I wished. As expected, I arrived within twenty minutes, parking near the front door. While the engine started to die down, the door opened besides me, and a face popped into existence. I jumped to the side, staring at it, until I could see who it was.

"Bennie!" I reached over and hugged him, rubbing his hair. It was always the same chocolate brown, no matter what the lighting. It earned him a few 'special' spots in the play last year, although it was dyed blue. "Is this my welcoming party?" He patted my face, and then stepped back to let me jump out. Bennie closed the door behind me after I had grabbed my bag, and then offered his hand teasingly. I grabbed it, smiling.

"So, you know that the finals are in?"

"Yep. I hear that André's also been spreading the results without me." I frowned. "Did you hear? I want to know how much of André's head I need to take."

Bennie laughed. "I don't know, actually, besides the fact that we're going to be very proud. I hear all the judges really liked Meg, you know…"

I pulled my braid over my shoulder, feeling a slight blush in my cheeks. "Well, I just did what I was supposed to… I think our Hercules did the better job." I tugged on the braid lightly, a nervous tick that I couldn't get rid of.

He shook his head. "That's not true. And you know it! We can show you the tapes, after we've opened the box and started our new season. Besides that, you can hear yourself singing."

"Not that I want to." I looked up to see the front doors. "You got a key?"

"I think Ryan's in there. He should be waiting…" Bennie peered through the windows, and knocked softly. The door swung open a moment later, and I was pulled in by my arm. Bennie slid in behind me, and let the door fall closed.

I smiled, letting myself be pulled against Ryan's chest as I stumbled over the soft carpet. "Morning! You got food?"

He snorted. "There's some food in the theatre. André brought some, for the small board of directors. We can go get you some." He pulled on my braid, smiling. "Let's go! If you ask André nicely, he might tell you our score."

Bennie had already left, finding his way to the theatre by the door in the front. I was the first to be in the long stretch of a hallway; I paused for a moment, to see a small group of ballet dancers in the common room. One took a leap that reminded me of the Swan Lake chorus line, and I turned away, feeling the emotions of that season begin to unfold. I followed Ryan towards the theatre instead of lurking on my past.

"I wish _we_ had good dancers. I think we lost our good chorus line when those three graduated last year." I shrugged. The college was rough; in the theatre department, good singers brushed through for at the most a few years. Excellent singers stayed for their time, but even though it was a world-renowned stage they put on, most people avoided their group.

I could only imagine it was either a reputation we put up for being world-class weird, the long rehearsals, or that we worked ourselves past the point of ruining a voice. No one ever did, but the rumors had started a few years ago, when Ellie had lost her voice on the evening of finals.

"Well, there's still a few – they may not dance the best, yes, but they sing well enough."

"That's what we used to win, with a good show last year, but it's all depending on this year's show. I guess we can always give a few lessons."

The theatre was dark, but the stage was shining brightly, as large as ever. André was sitting on the front of the stage, holding a packet in his hands. He didn't look up when we entered, but Rosaline did, and waved from the back of the stage. "Abella, do you want to open the box later?" she called.

"Sure as hell!" I clapped my hands excitedly. I had yet to open it, and now it was my turn! Fate may have had devil horns, but the muse had spread her wings.

A world-renowned theatre group that left their play to fate – that's what we were. A group that made their home wherever they went, finding no one place to be their house. The fun was everywhere; but one of the greatest honors was to open 'the box.' It was a golden box that had been chosen in the first season of the theatre group... it was at least a hundred years old; even André didn't know. But what tradition said was that they used it every time, and could never say no to whatever play it was. Some of the most interesting productions had happened that way; _Cendrillon_ could've been worse, had less than three people been able to speak French.

A person was chosen to open the box once a season was done. The person chose a play from the ones inside – picking a slip of paper to set up the new season. A piece of paper which set up a play from what it had on it. Last year's had been chosen by Ryan, and this year was my shot.

"What do you think it'll be?" I asked, to no one in particular. It was more or less a question we asked to have it be said; it would be near impossible to guess what they would have, and find it. Neither Roasline nor André wasn't sure how many plays there were left inside, or even which ones were inside.

"What do you think of Phantom? Our last play… That would be really nice. Taking 'Music of the Night' to finals would be so amazing." Ryan smiled.

"If only!" I turned my head to the stage, away from the row of seats. "Hey, André, could we do Phantom? Pretty please, with like, five cherries on top?" I smiled, holding my hands in front of me as I made a heart-shaped gesture.

"If you pick it, sure."

I stuck my tongue out, and made a noise. Ryan laughed, and started to trot towards the stage. I was stuck, and wandered behind him, my dress brushing behind myself as I picked my way across the stairs. We descended slowly, and then ascended quickly to the polished stage.

Rosaline smiled. She and André were up in the orchestra room, hanging over the railing; Andre was singing a soft song in the same fashion a mad-man would. She darted past him, and down the stairs, smiling. "Phantom would grace these halls like nothing we have ever seen before. We have the perfect set up, too, with the theatre boxes up there." She paused for a moment, and her smile got wider. "Even better! We don't need all the crazy scene changes, with our beautiful board…" Her sentence trailed off slowly. "I don't remember what it's called. I never did learn. All I can truly say is that it makes this much easier, when we don't have _actual_ scenery, but a curtain made of lights."

"It was helpful, definitely. I'm glad we decided to borrow what the Royal Albert Hall did... How many years has it been?" Ryan pondered this, but shrugged. Rosaline wouldn't answer him.

"You know, this would make a gorgeous moat. Gods help us when we figure out how to do this." I moved to kick off a shoe, but watched as nothing fell to the ground. I looked down and realized that I had left my shoes at home, and grinned. "I'm going to go to the back, then… I think I have shoes back there."

"Meeting's in five!" André called.

"Piss off!" I yelled back, knowing he wouldn't tell me the final score until the group was back. Ryan had decided to follow me, quietly shadowing my footsteps.

"Say you'll share with me-"

"-one night, one lifetime!" He had started a small song, which I joined in quickly. Ryan held my hands softly, watching me with jaded eyes.

"…Say you love me!"

"You know I do." He paused for just a moment, and then leaned in and kissed my cheek. "That's all I ask of you," he whispered softly, and I teasingly punched his cheek. "Leading me on like that! Well, I say, you can find your own way home."

I turned away, shaking my braid and pushing back to where we were headed. It was behind the two grand staircases that curled around the stage in order to hide the many doors we had. In the back of the stage, a few lockers were opened, and one of my friends was stretching before the row. Emalie was pushing her legs into a split position, stretching forward over one of her legs.

She didn't look up to see us enter, but asked of me, "I heard you're picking the play, then?"

"That's what it looks like." I pulled my locker open with my foot, but then thought better of it, and sat down next to Emalie. I pushed into a split position as well, gently stretching forward.

"Better make it good." Emalie switched which leg she was stretching over. She was always a quiet person, and I felt bad, disturbing her peace. Maybe she was in a social mood, maybe she wasn't – it was hard to say.

"I'll try. You'd make a good Carlotta, you know."

Emalie snorted. "Pleased to hear! If you choose Phantom, though, the entire cast will love you. I mean, more than they already do…"

_Looks like she's not in a good mood, then._ I pushed my legs together, and stood up. I wasn't planning to do any dancing, but it would seem Emalie was, and she always preferred to stretch alone. "See you later."

"Faire thee well." My friend was once more absorbed in her stretching, lost to the world again.

Ryan caught me as I was on the main stage again. In whatever time I had spent backstage – no more than two minutes, certainly – the theatre was filling up, with more than half of the group. I bowed mockingly to Rosaline, and then turned to face my boyfriend.

He was smiling still, looking at me with glimmering eyes. I smiled back, reaching up to lean my hand against his cheek, nodding my head softly. "I wonder if we won," I whispered.

"I can't tell you… But, you know, we did. Not that I told you or anything."

I screamed, and threw my arms around his neck. "Oh my gods! Did we really?" I was laughing merrily; I didn't think that we would _actually_ have won. "Does that mean we're headed to the world finals?"

Ryan lifted me off the ground, spinning in a slow circle. André appeared besides him in a moment, pulling off his glasses in a rage. "Why did you tell her?" he hissed. Ryan shrugged, and the director turned away once more, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why do I bother, Rosaline?"

I ignored him, and kissed Ryan's cheek. "Congratulations, Hercules."

"And to you, Megurixa." He kissed me back, and she cherished the soft taste of cinnamon on his lips. _Not that I don't mind him eating them, but he's got to stop with the cinnamon buns before rehearsal._

André cleared his throat, and Ryan decidedly picked me up in his arms, rushing off the stage to let the directors begin. He started with the same speech he usually gave; I knew it by heart, and mouthed the words softly.

And then he was done quicker than he had been other years.

"Congratulations to everyone here. What we did this year… was extraordinary, and you should all be very proud of yourselves." He started to pace a bit, pulling a small letter out of his pocket. "And the results are in! Coming in third place…"

I looked side-ways at Ryan. I knew who it wasn't, but who it was mattered a bit more.

"…Santa-Criss, from somewhere in New Mexico."

He snorted, and I elbowed him quickly. "_Path of Daggers_ was excellent, be quiet."

"In second place…"

Bennie, somewhere behind us with Amelia, gasped.

"…Farscotch, from who-knows-where."

"They did such a good job with _Music Within_, though! Do you think we lost?" Amelia seemed fairly nervous. Ryan didn't tell her, which surprised me. The two seemed like they were good friends.

"And in first…"

Rosaline sneezed from the back of the stage – the only reason we could hear her was that we were all dead silent. Nobody was moving, breathing, or doing anything in the seconds that passed by while we waited for André.

I looked over at Ryan. Some people – who had waited their entire college life for this moment – wouldn't make it, and we'd probably be carting a few people to the nurse's ward for bruised heads, and all that fun with people passing out. It certainly wouldn't be the first year it had happened, throughout my history in this theatre I've seen Rosie and several other strong-headed people fall over.

"…Blue Stone, from Wisconsin."

Amelia passed out, Bennie's jaw would've hit the floor if it could go any further, and the rest were either shocked silent and passed out or screaming and kissing the nearest person. I chose the third option, kissing Ryan again, and I smiled happily.

"We did it. We really did. We're going to the _real_ finals this year!" I leaned back with a pleased sigh, poking Ryan as he tried to push closer, and looked back to Andre. The rest of the group who were still sitting straight had turned quiet, leaving our attention to Andre. He had the final say if we would show up or not.

André smiled, bowing to the group. "From the bottom of my heart, I can't tell you how pleased I am with what you've done this year. And for those of you who haven't passed out yet, I give you a declaration of peace – and a proclamation of acceptance. For those of you who are leaving after this year, Rosaline and I will welcome you to our halls once more for a fabulous show next year. Because we're headed to the world finals, with whatever we decide to show."

"Please, nothing foreign! If we have to bring _Mulan_ in Chinese, I think I might kill someone." The source was undeterminable, but it made André laugh.

I turned to look over my shoulder, hearing a small crash as Bennie fell over. His dream had always been the finals, and now he had it. Ryan was just as close to passing out as I was, and I grinned widely, excited to see what they could possibly bring on the stage.

"Abella?"

I stood slowly, finding that my pale feet were shaking on the cold marble floor. The large hall seemed to grow double, which was nearly impossible after remembering how big it truly was. The steps to the stage seemed to take an age to pass over, and the fifth age seemed to be worse than it actually was as I walked up to the stage.

Rosaline was holding the golden box, smiling. "Welcome to your hall, Abella."

"Child of the night, daughter of the Evenstar, walker of the darkness, and dancer of the lake." I quoted four characters I had done already – Clarissa, anonymous elf, Shadow-Thief, and Swan. My hand reached out slowly, shaking as badly as my foot was.

Rosaline nodded her head slowly, letting me pull back the lid of the box. "Oh gods, oh gods, o-… Oh gods!" I winced as I pulled out a piece of parchment. From the way it felt, it had been in the box since the tradition was first started, and probably the first play that actually went in.

"Look at it, silly!"

I didn't realize how long I had sat quietly, but I opened my eyes and looked at the paper. I gasped, and dropped the parchment as I looked up to stare at Rosaline. "Jesus Harold Christ!" I screeched, jumping up to hug her. "Holy fuck! I did it, I can't believe I chose it!"

Rosaline pushed me away, leaning over to pick up the paper. She had the precise reaction as I did, dropping the paper and jumping with me. "You actually did it!" she laughed.

André rolled his eyes, turning around to pick up the paper. He tried several times, having trying to dodge jumping feet, before he was able to successfully grab it. He almost dropped it, but stood up slowly, smiling.

"Congratulations, Abella. You've just made a happy theatre." He paused, and I was certain everyone's eyes flicked up to the piece of paper, trying to see what it read. "For those of you who have yet to pass out with excitement… We're performing the Phantom of the Opera."

I was able to stop jumping, hugging Rosaline, as we watched André. He seemed as happy as we were, and the rest of the group was shaking with excitement. I was still having troubles believing my luck; I would gladly stay with my dad for the year left, in order to perform this play.


	2. Chapter 2 - Storytime

André turned around from the few people who were standing, to face Rosaline. "When should we do auditions?" he asked, keeping his voice soft.

She grinned. "First off – dibs on Madame Giry. Second – tomorrow, sometime after school. Give students enough time to prepare themselves, even though most of them would gladly do it right now." She dipped into a curtsey, giving her customary notice that he held the power in their arrangements.

"Very well. Would you two mind waking everyone up? Weak-willed people here, I swear." He shook his head, and followed a snaking path to the back of the stage.

He wasn't right, I realized. They weren't 'weak' – if anything, they were excited little children who had had too much caffeine the night before and were already sleepy enough, but now they had a reason to find sleep.

Blue Stone Theatre had been world-renowned for as long as the college had been running, which had to stretch back close to when dinosaurs wandered the earth. But however long they had been running, they had only just started competition ten years ago, when André decided that it was time.

And that was a problem. In order to get into the specific circuit we compete in for world finals, you have to win at least six national performances in the last ten years. Which we had finally hit, thankfully, and we could now go on to competiton.

For whatever reason, they had never performed in competition before. Had they, there would certainly be enough trophies to line the walls twice over; but all directors before André had decided that it was not the time. After the season he had run, though, there would certainly be more competitions once he was gone.

Which would be the same time I would be leaving, I knew. _Andr_é_, Rosaline, Ryan, me…_

"Hey. Christine. You there?"

I looked up, frowning. I had already been casted?

"Don't give me that look, the both of us know _exactly_ what role you're going to get. Doubt if anyone else would try out for the role, knowing you'll get it." Rosaline snorted, placing her hands on her hips. Her chest seemed to pop out a bit more, if that was in any way possible.

I shook my head disbelievingly. "Alright, let's go get everyone up."

"Ah, mademoiselle, you wish to leave so soon?"

"Not like I had anywhere to be, anyways. No classes today, remember? So let's just play the Overture, you can run out music books, and I can go take a nap." I leaned my head back, and ran a hand over the braid. A few strands were already falling out, which made me a bit upset, but the feeling would soon pass.

Rosaline started to leap over the stage, trying not to fall over with her socks on the floor. She could easily trip over if she tried to run normally, and instead started to choose a routine from Swan Lake, allowing her to slip over the floor without actually falling.

A few moments with the stereo, and then the organ was crashing against the walls. It was hitting against the paneled tiles, and then Rosaline was beside me, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. She started to the beginner's ballet routine, and I quickly joined in, bowing next to her in pretending that a group of dancers was jumping overhead.

The seats were slowly stirring, as people stood up to meet the booming sounds. A few turned to the stage, and some actually joined the stage, with Emalie finding her way in the center. She assumed her position of hatred, arms besides her with her fists balled together.

Her voice cleared over the stadium, pretending to hold a head in her hand as Rosaline and I leaned against each other. Most of the ballet was done for the time being, and we assumed the casual role, two girls giggling and pointing at whatever cute guy passed by.

Emalie's solo cut off, and André appeared, cutting all sound and movement. He was grinning, but it was assumed that he wanted us to leave. I patted Rosaline's shoulder, passing over the stage and down the stairs as everyone else made their own exits.

Ryan was waiting patiently, holding my bag in his hand. I reached for it, only to find that he pulled it out of my reach once more. I tried several times to grab it again, but each time he pulled it just out of her reach.

"Hey, come on! Don't be an ass, just give me it back." I reached forward, grabbing at it with rapid fire.

"Only if we stop somewhere to eat." He slowly gave it to me, knowing that I had already agreed.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Cherr-"

"Cher Louis, my treat." André rested his head on my shoulder, smiling. "Rosaline will come with, once she's done being ballet-mama and lets her chorus go. I'm certain most of them ran away so that they didn't have to deal with her, but for those who didn't…" He looked side-ways. "And our Christine will be ready for tomorrow?"

"Given there's no lurking phantoms in our own theatre house, yes."

Ryan nodded. "We'll head over to Cher, then, you two find your way after us. And we'll meet you there." He held his hand out for me, and I nodded, accepting it without hesitation. He bowed mockingly, and led me out of the theatre in silence.

Neither of us spoke until we were outside, when Ryan looked at me. "How was your morning, then? Get outside alright?"

"Yeah, I guess… He wasn't awake, surprisingly, so I was out within twenty minutes. It was all fine." I pulled my bag further over my shoulder. I never wanted to talk about my dad, but it was my last year with him, and by then I hoped I would have enough money to move out. _It's not like Ryan's mom would turn me away, if I didn't_.

He nodded slowly. I couldn't imagine how he had ever learned to deal with my father; a drunkard and an abusing mess with barely enough room to look down and see his feet, I was never able to deal with him. If anything, I was still surprised he both let me go to Blue Stone for college, and was able to pay for some of it.

I pulled my car keys out of my bag, and unlocked it, as we drew closer. Ryan snatched the keys out of my hand, and quickly darted to the driver's side as I grabbed at the air in an attempt to reclaim them. He jumped inside, and locked the door, pointing to the passenger's side.

"Give me them back!" I whined, lightly pounding against the window.

He leaned over and unlocked the door, pointing once more with an innocent smile.

I sighed, slowly walking to the other side as he started the car's engine. The door opened easily, and I sat down, looking over to him.

"You're an ass."

He didn't reply, instead making himself busy by playing with the car keys.

I leaned my head against the window, and closed my eyes, focusing on the light rhythm of an acoustic guitar from the radio. It was something I could remember him playing for me before, but the name of it was impossible to find.

"From G to E minor…"

"Hm?" I looked over to him. Usually he didn't just name chords like he was naming wine, so there was some reason behind it, I was hoping.

Ryan shrugged. "Just the chord change. It was from that movie we watched a few weeks ago, the old guy going crazy over making his princess dance, and then his child gets her to do a ballet. I remember the chord change was 'G to E Minor,' and the player does a great job each time."

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because we were at Cher Louis – which was at least a twenty minute drive. Goddess only knows how I could fall asleep that fast. André was leaning against his car – Rosaline would be inside, securing a table with fang and claw – and he perked up when he saw us.

Ryan parked slowly, like usual, and so I jumped out before he was done, rushing over to hug André. Despite the fact that we had seen each other very recently. He smiled, and patted my head, stepping back before Ryan stepped out of the car.

"Rosaline's inside, as I'm sure you guessed. We should have…" He trailed off slowly, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "We have a table. And the old booklet for this play. Shall we be off?"

André held his arm out, and I laid my hand gently on it. Together we danced towards the building, lightly walking around the puddles scattered throughout the parking lot. At the door, he held the gilded handles, and I slipped past. Rosaline was waiting inside, with a smile on her face. She was holding a stack of booklets – most likely destined for the pit – in her arms, and watched me approach slowly. "You took your time, my dear! I was thinking you all would never show up."

"Cher is just a short drive from our college," I said cautiously. Her patience seemed to be unusually low today. "Anyways, is that pit music?"

She nodded. I grabbed the stack, and put them on the ground, looking for the oboe score. I found it, and flipped through the pages, laughing. "Serina's going to have a great time with this. Such good music! If only I kept playing, I always wanted the solo for that reprise." I put the score back on top, and stood up slowly.

"You were in band?"

"Do I look like a choir kid to you?" I kicked at André, who backed up just in time. He didn't reply, but one of the servers swept into the room, bowing softly. He said nothing as we followed him, Rosaline pausing to pick up all the scores I had left behind.

The place was decorated almost like the palace Versailles; it was a very Americanized version of it, with some objects that would never be found in renaissance France, but most of it was very warming, and absolutely covered with gold. Our table was close to the back, in a nice private room. Rosie put her music on one of the lounge chairs within, and Ryan pulled out a chair for me to sit in. I was very cautious as I sat, expecting him to pull it away; instead, André kicked it out, and Ryan caught me as I fell.

André laughed, and I pushed him over, giggling as he toppled. Ryan dropped me with that, shaking his head like the disappointed parent would. Both of us on the floor were laughing harder, and I fell backwards to lie on the floor. "What shall we do with our mean old parents?" He sang it to the tune of an old sailor's song, and I joined in, with us screeching from the floor. Rosaline decidedly put an end to it by dropping one of the pit books on André, at the same time Ryan pulled me up from the floor.

I flicked his cheek, and he pushed me to sit in one of the chairs. With that, our song was done, and I frowned. "No need to ruin our fun," I mumbled, pulling the chair closer to the table.

"There's all the need. I simply _must_ detail how my theatre is meant to be run, and we can't have the chorus girl sleeping with the director." Ryan pushed a chair next to me, and sat down, grinning. He was obviously proud of himself for starting the Phantom talk at the table, and as soon as I was going to take it away from him, I decided I couldn't.

Rosaline kicked her own chair away, dragging up one of the lounge ones. The table was certainly large enough – at least seven feet in diameter, a nice round table – and she pushed the pit books to the center, sighing.

An idea came to André, and his eyes grew wider. "That's it, then! Who will play my Firmin?" Three of us sat thinking for a few moments. I started to look at the cast members I knew best… and then thought of one that would be perfect.

"Bennie."

"Perfect!" Ryan's reaction was immediate, as he smiled brightly.

André pretended to be sick, but we knew better; the two would be amazing friends.

Rosaline pulled a notebook out of her large purse (the same one we suspected to belong to have belonged to Hermione Granger at some point) and a pencil, scratching down names on the first page. "Christine, Abella… Phantom, Ryan… André, André… Firmin, Bennie… Madame Giry, c'est moi…"

"So that's settled, then. Shall we order food?" My stomach echoed its approval of my words.

"I'm starving." Ryan kicked his feet up on the table, and André pushed his chair over and into mine. I caught him, and just barely set up him back to where he was.

Our server who greeted us was conveniently walking in at that point, and it was decided that we would act normal for once. I nudged Ryan with my elbow, and he stuck his tongue out at me, before turning to order some food for us.

"Hm… Escargot? Sound good to you?"

I kicked the leg of his chair, and André sighed. "How about a nice, big platter of something edible for the four of us? Something that's not escargot, and preferably tastes good." He smiled, and it was one the rest of us knew to be a signal that he was finished for the afternoon.

"Yay! Playground time." Ryan clapped his hands excitedly, and I giggled, watching the poor waiter leave. Rosie waited until he was gone to throw her pencil at me; I ducked, hearing it crunch into the wall behind me. She smirked, and let it be, as Ryan grew quiet.

Smiling garciously, Rosie turned to us all. "Thank you. Now, first matter, we have to sort out this cast…. We can name the open spots as we see them, just like normal. If the member does not fit, we will hold the true auditions another day." Flicking open a script, she gazed across the cast list.

"Raoul." I needed to know who I'd be stuck kissing in the gala.

Ryan smiled. "Bennie!"

"Casted for Firmin," André reminded him. "How about Fox?"

I shook my head rapidly, braid twisting from side to side. "Nuh-uh. Nope. No way!"

Rosie smiled. "Perfect." She pulled another pencil from her purse, and scratched the names down. I looked to Ryan for help, and he shrugged, laughing at my misery. I pulled back into my chair, frowning.

"You can have the next one." André smiled at me, trying to be polite.

"Carlotta will be Emalie," I growled, upset with him.

It went into the notebook, just like Fox did. Hopefully Emalie would be happy with me; she was always a quiet, nice girl, but the true bitch when she wanted to be. The perfect girl for Carlotta. The only problem would be whether she wanted that role or not...

"And, for Meg Giry? My beautiful daughter?"

"What about Sona?" André received a hateful glare from Rosie, and pushed his chair back from the table. "Well… Uh… Dany. Dany would be nice, right?" He got a smile, and relaxed slightly as the name went into the book.

"My turn… Wouldn't Olafur make a good Piangi?" Ryan nodded, trying to seek encouragement from the group. I held my hand up, and gave him a thumbs down – he wasn't going to be forgiven for Fox any time soon. "No? Come on, Rosie, Olafur!"

She paused to think. "We'd need a fat suit. And a big one."

André giggled. "That can be arranged! I think we have one from several years ago."

Rosie rolled her eyes, and continued to scratch the name in.

"My turn! Who do we have left?" I smiled brightly, trying to keep a good mood.

Ryan stole the script, and gazed over it, trying to see if they had missed someone. "Well… There's all our ballet dancers? Ooh – here's one. You can choose a candelabra holder." He laughed at me – again – and then looked up as he smelled food. "Delicious. Thank you kindly."

The platter was set in the middle, and as soon as it was down the waiter disappeared through the door - I didn't blame him for wanting to avoid the crazy people. I grabbed one of the plates of bread, and then a bowl of soup, immediately starting to eat. I was too hungry to wait at this point, and too angry to do much besides eat.

"Very well," I said between bites, "it appears… that I will… take care of our orchestra." I pulled the stack of scores closer to me, being careful not to get any liquid on them. Ryan was a messy eater, and I wasn't sure if André was aiming carefully or poorly.

It looked nicely, with the full orchestration written on top, and a large book for the conductor - Rosie must have moved the oboe score. It was heavy, granted, and the rest of it was large enough to convince me to let Rosie carry it again. She'd be fine with that, if it was just another exercise to help her get back into shape for ballet.

She smiled. "It is known." The other two echoed her words, despite how much we held a small amount of loathe for that series. "I assume that you three know this will be a very childish version? I will be instructing our ballet in how to be the true girls that each production should have had. Our Carlotta will learn how to yell at them soon enough, and hopefully each play will gain the true anger she holds." Rosie wasn't eating, I noticed, but I didn't stop.

"Please tell me you're almost done eating."

"No worries, I want to get back home and sleep." I smiled, and then realized I had to go back to the college. "…Who wants to go back with me? I have to get these books to a happy pit." I laughed, trying to think of who would get the first bassoon; Ryan would have a fun time insulting him, and that poor third trombone.

It was always nice to have a small pit, and we never worried very much about how we would fill all the parts. If anything, we worried about how many people we would have to decline for the performances, in order to keep it small.

André nodded slowly. "I think we all are. I've got something to clean up in the backroom, and I'm sure Rosie has a few words to say to the orchestra this year. Also, Ryan's taking your car, so that's that." He was done with his soup, and chewed on the last piece of bread.

I pushed the rest of my food forward. After being around Ryan for long enough, I had learned how to eat fast and be productive while doing it; I had actually finished before him this time. Rosie stood first, picking up the pit books. The other three of us stood as one, and I dropped a small pile of money on the table, hoping it was enough to take care of expenses.

She laughed at me. "We've got a bill big enough to take the next century to pay off. A pot of soup won't matter at this point."

"And they still serve us?" I stared at her pointedly.

Waiting until we were at the front, he smiled. "Certainly! Well, fair is fair, and we'll see you at the college." André opened the door for all of us, and then we parted ways.

Ryan was unusually quiet as we walked together. I hugged closer to him, and he put his arm around my shoulder, keeping me close. I looked up at him, trying to see what was wrong, but he didn't seem to want to talk. As soon as we were at my car, he opened the door for me, and then moved to stand at the other side.

I sat down carefully, leaning my head against the window once it was closed. "I'm going to sleep a bit, then. I have a feeling I won't be getting much later."

"You're always welcome at my place." He turned on the stereo, and played 'Music of the Night' for me. I smiled, hearing him sing the words quietly. "Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination…"


	3. Chapter 3 - Sleepwalking

"…And so, we're asking for recordings to be in by 10 a.m. on Saturday. That gives you plenty of time." Rosie was speaking, from somewhere to my right. I didn't open my eyes to see where she was, and instead tried to fall asleep again.

"That gives us three days."

"You appear to be new here." She was very serious, but the rest of the room laughed. "Three days. Those who get their discs in early will not be given greater consideration, but those who get theirs in late will not be considered at all. Any questions?"

"What is the orchestration you're looking for?"

"On the board. What are you?… ah, flute. No wonder you can't read. All the same, we are looking for three of your kind. One first, one second, one third. Alright?"

He grumbled something in response, and Rosie laughed. "I was never able to deal with your kind anyways. Get to it, everyone. Copies should be available in acceptable quantities." She sounded like she was coming closer, and so I covered my eyes.

"You can't see me… if I can't see you…" I was mumbling, clinging to whatever sleep I had left.

She snorted. "Very well, Abella. I'll carry you if I have to."

I held my arms up – for a brief moment – and then she was carrying me, as she said she would. I smiled, and rested my head on her shoulder, where I knew I could sleep for a while. Rosie was probably very unhappy with me, but there was nothing I would change about this. A peaceful moment would last forever, shrouded in night.


End file.
